Are You Getting Enough Zinc?

Zinc is an essential micronutrient necessary to maintain a healthy immune system, building proteins, triggering enzymes, and creating DNA. If this is not enough, zinc also helps cells in the body communicating, as it’s used by the body as a neurotransmitter.
Notwithstanding its importance, it has been reported that as many as 2 billion people around the world have diets that are deficient in this important mineral, and even in affluent countries, such as the US, about 12% of the population is probably at risk of zinc deficiency. This figure raises to almost 40% if we take into consideration the elderly.
A new research has unveiled, for the first time, a biological mechanism by which zinc deficiency can develop with age, leading to a decline of the immune system and increased inflammation associated with many health problems, including cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease and diabetes.
In other words, we should give zinc more credit, especially as we age!

Suggested Reading: Seeds Of Deception

There’s a lot of talking going on about GMOs these days. Part of it is due to California Proposition 37 that, if passed, will require proper labeling on food containing GMO. Part of it is due to a recently published French research suggesting that genetically modified foods may cause cancer overtime. Part of it is due to the total lack of knowledge on GMOs by most of the population.
I used to know very little about GMOs and I’m currently trying to fill this gap. I somehow assumed that GMOs were bad but didn’t know what they actually are, where you can find them, and so on...
During my research I stumbled upon a book “Seeds of Deception” by Jeffrey Smith: the world's bestselling and #1 rated book on GMO. It provided for a great reading experience and plenty of information on GMOs. I strongly suggest you give it a go!

Vegan Protein Zucchini Bread

Some recipes are just meant to be. They are perfect in all respect. This is one of them
Easy to make, tastes awesome and - last but not least - has a great nutritional value.
I could brag for hours about how good this protein zucchini bread is, but instead I’m just gonna point out the few awesome things about it.

What Foods Are You Going To Eat When You're Hungry?

Food deprivation for 18 to 24 hours can happen to anyone. It can be imposed by your doctor before blood draws or surgery, or it can be self-imposed in case of extreme dieting, juice cleansing, religious fasts and, last but not least, of really busy working schedules.
In fact, whenever you’re skipping breakfast you’re actually fasting for a good 15 hours: imagining that you had dinner the night before at around 8pm and you’re having lunch on the following day at about 1pm.
When that happens you’re feeling so hungry that it borderlines starvation, and in this case which foods are you most likely going to reach for if you’re presented which different choices? How much of it are you actually going to eat?
A recent study suggests that you’re probably going to dive into starches first, maybe some proteins, and veggies, unfortunately, are going to be your last option.
On top of that, you’re likely to eat much more food than you would normally do.

Whole Wheat, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins

I realized that the only muffins’ recipes I’ve posted so far were made with protein powder: double chocolate protein muffins, and pumpkin protein muffins. I don’t always bake with protein powder though; there are other several recipes for healthy muffins that I like to make.
This one, for instance, is amazing. A combination of wholesome ingredients to make some delicious muffins easy on calories. Packed with fiber, but with little sugar, and very little fat.

Do You Know Why Exercise Is Good For Mental Health?

We’ve said this times and times again exercise is good not only for the body but also for the brain. Studies across the board show that daily physical activity can also boost mental health. But what actually accounts for the association between exercise and mental health?

Lentil "Meatballs" With Light Pesto

Talking about “meatless meatballs” is an oxymoron. One that is hard to justify.
As my niece told me: “How can you have meatballs if there’s no meat inside?”
To a certain degree I had to yield to her reasoning. If there’s no meat you should call them “[something]balls” not meatballs.
Two incongruous words paired together, what a headache to explain to kids. With these lentil ‘meatballs’ however the resemblance and taste to meat is so close that there’s no better way to describe them besides ‘meatballs’.
That’s why the oxymoron is justified. Just this one time.

Always Scan The Ingredient List From Top To Bottom!

We talked about how important is to read nutrition labels on food, but that’s not the only thing you should look for. As crucial is to scan the ingredients list.
You’ll be surprised to see that some foods comprise numerous ingredients with weird and complicated names that more often should belong in a chemistry lab, rather than on your plate.
Here’s a few things to help you successfully scan the list...

Source FDA

The 80% Diet - 20% Exercise Rule

It is well established that when trying to lose weight a combination of both exercising and dieting provides best results.
Alone, neither of them is sufficient.
Some people are able to shed pounds just by cutting calorie intake, but the results are unlikely to last without some physical activity. Conversely, you can spend hours in the gym, but if you’re stuffing your mouth with high-caloric and unhealthy food you won’t go far.
To put it differently, both factors are necessary to achieve optimal weight loss.
Exercising without a healthy diet is futile, but an healthy diet is per se not enough.
However, it’s not always apparent how much these two factors plays in the weight loss equation.
In other words, how much should you exercise? How much you should restrict calories?

Why You Need To Read Nutrition Labels More Carefully

In our quest to become healthier, one of the strongest tool we have in our hands are the nutrition facts labels printed on the food we’re buying.
They've often been the subject of criticisms, as some claim that they fail to provide enough information and that the data displayed can be misleading.
I'd rather say: they’re there, let’s take advantage of them.
All we need to do is to learn how to read them correctly and with some common sense we are going to do a lot of good to ourselves.

Source FDA